Speaking out for those who can't.

Menu

Dec. 22, 2013

Two years ago today, I wrote about a terrifying incident that had occurred the night before. The previous night, my oldest grandson had suffered a seizure while in my care. When I wrote this piece I was trying to convey the sense of fear and helplessness I initially felt when I discovered my grandson seizing. What I didn’t document when I first wrote this, was that the 911 dispatcher had mistakenly disconnected me twice while I was trying to get help for my grandson. My initial thought when this happened was “Why me?” Now I know that it wasn’t about me at all. I now know that I was where I was that night for a reason. Looking back, I thank God that I didn’t give in to panic and that I did what I had to do to make sure my grandson was taken care of. I was reminded that night that each of us has a source of inner strength that we can tap into at times of crisis. It is there anytime we need it and it will never fail us.
I treasured my grandsons before that night and I treasure them even more now. As long as they are happy and healthy, there is nothing else I need or want.

Last night I was reminded of the fragility of human life and how quickly everything can change. I was babysitting my 2 grandsons, aged 4 months and nearly 3 years. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that my night would include a frantic call to 911, an ambulance ride to the hospital, and a stressful night of poking, prodding, and testing on my oldest grandson.

My evening started by feeding the baby and playing with his big brother. We watched some Christmas movies, changed the baby’s diaper, and played some more. My oldest grandson was exhausted from a long day of play with no nap and became increasingly cranky, eventually resulting in my placing him in timeout for a couple minutes. He cried when I imposed the timeout and I felt bad for causing my best friend to cry, but knew that he had to be taught…